First Coast area business news

A group of Jacksonville’s influential business leaders said Thursday morning they are not endorsing recently unveiled plans by the owners of The Jacksonville Landing to tear the structure down and replace it with two mixed-use structures that would include apartments, restaurants, shops and possibly a hotel.

Instead, the Jacksonville Civic Council is calling on the community’s talent pool to come up with plans to reshape the venue, which sits on city-owned land.

“It isn’t a site-specific criticism, we just feel we can do a better plan as a community and that the community has the right to be involved,” said Bob Rhodes, chairman of the Civic Council’s Downtown Task Force. “But we cannot endorse the plans as they are.

“Once a decision is made on what to build, you can’t change it. When you look at the Downtown Investment Authority’s plans, the Landing is the catalyst for downtown revitalization. If this is the epicenter for downtown, we have to measure it against the DIA goals,” he said. “And we feels this falls short.”

Jonathan Heldenbrand, vice president of Sleiman Enterprises which owns the Landing, said the company has already committed to a public meeting on the plans.

“This is very much a work in progress,” he said. “We’ve got a long way to go.”

No date has been set for the meeting, but Heldenbrand said it would be similar to the one held last December in the city’s Main Library.

But Rhodes, who is also former chairman of the Downtown Development Authority and the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, said he thinks more is needed that one or two public meetings. Instead, he envisions a series of workshops that involves area architects and planners.

“The decisions here are so big, and the opinions of the pros are so diverse,” he said, “it would be appropriate to call up a charrette and really let the pros work through it. I’d start with smaller groups, workshops and they we’d obviously have public forums.”

…”That’s great news,” said Toney Sleiman, CEO of Sleiman Enterprises. “I welcome any of our citizens or organizations to take their time and skills to offer designs and or renderings for this redevelopment plan. We would gladly look at those submittals and consider them.”

Oliver Barakat, chairman of the Downtown Investment Authority, said that group will take responsibility for setting up whatever public forums are held. But he said that no decisions on forums, workshops, etc., have been made.

“The plans have not been formally introduced to the board,” he said. “Perhaps at the next meeting we can decide what those will be.”

The latest plans by Sleiman Enterprises, which owns the riverfront mall, have also received mixed reviews from architects and urban planners, many of whom said they felt the current plans fell short of what’s needed to make Jacksonville have a “word-class” downtown.

“We understand that,” Heldenbrand said, “and that’s one of the reasons we’re asking for input. We want it to successful and not just look pretty from a blimp. The trick is to balance that.”

Barakat offered similar sentiments.

“We have to balance what is good for the public with what is feasible for the developer,” he said.

Mayor Alvin Brown has requested the City Council to authorize $11.8 million in city debt to pay for improvements on parts of the Landing that would be open space.

The Downtown Development Review Board and the Downtown Investment Authority also will vote on Sleiman Enterprises’ proposal, though it could be months before that happens.

“We encourage the DIA to convene a public review process that will engage the public and capture the expertise of professionals who will celebrate the St. John’s River and create a downtown destination that reflects the true nature of our city,” Rhodes said. “Public investment in the Landing can only occur when a community engagement process is conducted and an iconic design is completed and presented.”

Has anyone on the Civic Council seen the NEW Downtown Docking Zone Map? How can you even start the Conversation on the Landing when the entire community is unaware of this NEW WATERFRONT ZONE MAP. Seriously! At the recent 8/13/14 Jacksonville Waterways Commission meeting nobody on Waterways new of its existence. Not Good.
Who was involved with this NEW MAP?
Was there any PUBLIC INPUT?
TU - Please do a story on the NEW Downtown Waterfront MAP. If we are going to give millions in taxpayer money to the Landing then economic opportunity needs to be extended to everyone as we all promote, celebrate, protect , and access the St. Johns River an American Heritage River a FEDERAL Initiative in this new Super restricted 2014-560 CRA/DIA Zone.

Before anything else, let's worry about finishing the north-bank condo tower that makes downtown look like Sarajevo during the War in Bosnia? All those poor people in the finished condo tower next door having to look at what appears to be a bombed-out skeleton deserve better. This is entirely in the best interests of everybody in Jacksonville. What is wrong with the urbanites? Can't you see how embarrassing it makes us look?

Ideas to fix Jacksonville Landing

1. Get rid of the ugly orange roof color and give the Landing a good face-lift, including lower profile landscaping, a uniform scheme featuring a very light color, and make it a point to design in Florida things like hurricane shutters to cover all that glass. Paint some colorful Coney Island kind of signs to hang on the backside of the landing, and throw white light on them. (Google Coney Island Signs for ideas) Here's the idea: http://wdwparkhoppers.sarenemedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Boardwa...

2. Extend the Landing out into the river beyond the city bulkhead with some kind of boardwalk with rails? What's wrong with a short pier like the one on Anna Maria Island? At the end of the pier you can have a lighthouse. You could put in two piers leading to restaurants on the water.

3. The key to putting life into Jacksonville Landing is lighting. Lots of color diversity of animated neon mixed with clear marquee lights uniformly set along the lines of the structure.

4. Have a culinary advisory committee that occasionally visits and offers positive suggestions to the individual restaurateurs, who all should be willing to accept better menu suggestions, and can steer outdoor food vendors into offering finger foods, snacks, etc. before the sit down meal.

5. Give people riparian entertainments. Whatever became of the River City Band? Who could be against a few prize offering games of chance like ring tosses, basketball hoop challenges, or tasteful street performers capable of fascinating skill working for gratuities?

6. Is it possible that Jacksonville be willing to take the ultimate plunge of sweet surrender? Could Jacksonville Landing transform into a much more characteristic and embraceable Cowford Crossing?

7. What can we do about people mover connectivity or actual horse-drawn street cars and/or carriage rides at night. What about allowing those rickshaw guys you see these days to taxi people around from hotels and condos?

8. Finally, and not the least, security. Some guy sitting in a squad car staring at wireless mall video is the least comforting thing I can think of. What's happened to the open-air connection Jacksonville citizens used to have with Jacksonville's Finest? Time was we knew our neighborhood cops by name. If people can't rely upon the city of Jacksonville to provide a safe environment without the look and feel of Nazism all around you, you can kiss it all goodbye.